DLA Piper grew profit per equity partner (PEP) nearly 20% in 2025, the firm’s last full financial year before its new corporate structure came into effect at the start of May.
PEP at the 4,800-lawyer firm reached $4.1m, up 19.6% on 2024, while revenue rose 8.4% to $4.6bn.
DLA Piper voted earlier this year to replace its Swiss verein structure with a global LLP that would sit above its existing US and International entities, in a move it said would increase its capacity to pursue complex work and top-tier talent across its practices and markets.
The firm has not moved to a single profit pool, with the change instead intended to align partner incentives while preserving regional economics.
Over the course of the year, DLA Piper recruited 72 new partners, including Dechert’s private equity co-head, Chris Field, in London. The firm also boosted its partnership with a 65-strong promotions round in April dominated by its corporate and finance teams, and recruited David Cameron, the former UK prime minister as a consultant to advise on issues including geopolitical risk.
The firm also saw senior exits in 2025, among them UK competition head Sarah Smith’s move to Simmons & Simmons and global investment funds co-chair James O’Donnell, who joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Key deals work included advising AI firm Sana on its $1.1bn acquisition by Orrick-repped Workday, while on the disputes side the firm achieved a significant victory at the Federal Circuit in the US for longtime client Medtronic, overturning a $125m patent infringement verdict against its CoreValve unit alongside Jones Day.
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